"Happy birthday my honey badger and good morning!" Ok I might have been up for a while as Daniel was still sleeping, which makes me totally hyped up. I think I'm more excited about his birthday than he is. But it's the first birthday we celebrate together, so I'm just really happy right now.
He buries his face in his pillow when I jump on the bed after I placed a plate of food on the nightstand.
"I love you babe, wake up so I can give you a proper birthday kiss!" I shake him and I can hear a muffled grunt coming from somewhere in the pillow.
He slowly turns over with a lazy smile on his face and he looks so cute right now.
"Morning baby." His voice sounds a bit rough from sleep, but damn that is sexy.
"Happy 33th birthday handsome!" I bend over to him to kiss him, but he puts his arms around me and I end up on top of him.
"Thanks love, but do you have to be so energetic this early?"
I give him a proper kiss on the lips before nodding.
"I do, now sit up I have a small present and breakfast." I'm quite excited about the gift I have so I really hope he likes it.
When he's finally sitting up in the bed I take the present from where I put it and hand I to him.
It's a big flat pack and I can tell he's really curious to find out what's in it.
"I told you, you didn't have to get me anything."
"I know, but it's your birthday, just open it."
He rips the paper off and when he sees what's in it he gets the biggest, sweetest smile on his face.
"It's the best, I love it so much. I love you baby." He holds the frame in front of him.
I had a painting made from the picture Charlotte took of us when we went into town the Saturday after I arrived in Monaco with Daniel.
It's the picture he posted to announce our relationship and I've always loved it.
"It was not easy thinking of something to get for you, but I hope I succeeded."
I pick up the plate of food and trade it for the painting.
"You sure did baby, it's the best gift you could have given me. We are going to put it up at home."
After we both finish breakfast we get dressed, I have to put some creme on the tattoo but Daniel took the jar out of my hand. With soft hands he puts it on and I put on a black skirt with a sparkly halter top and a leather jacket. I've got my new Docs on and I'm so in love with these, they are rainbow colored with a shimmer.
"You look stunning as always love, shall we go?" He gets his stuff and we head to Michaels room to get him as well.
"So you've got that fanzone thing first right?"
I ask him as we get into the car, as if I don't know that yet.
"Yeah it's a home race for the team as well as for Lando, so they have this small fan zone event on a stage planned. I think we'll be shooting some T-shirts in the crowd and maybe some signed caps. It's always a lot of fun."
We arrive at the track with time to spare. I leave Daniel at the garage and find Charlotte.
"Hey girl, ready for Daniels surprise?" She hooks her arm in mine and we both make our way to the fanzone where it will all go down in about 45 minutes.
I can tell things are all set up the way me and the team talked about and I see them finishing up. So it seems everything is ready to go and I'm so excited.
Fans are already gathering behind the crush barriers and when they spot me I hear them calling my name. I quickly wave at them and it's pretty crazy that they actually start cheering for me.
I see Daniel and Lando coming this way so I quickly check to make sure everything that is needed later is hidden.
I let out a relieved sigh and then walk over to Lando and Daniel. "Hey love, you're already here?" Daniel gives a quick kiss on my cheek.
"Yeah I was curious to see this. I'll be watching from the side. Have fun out there." They walk over to the stage where they are handed a microphone and some sort of leaf blower and a pile of rolled up shirts.
They go on stage and the fans are going crazy. First they shoot a bunch of shirts in the crowd and then they frisbee the caps towards the fans as well.
I'm sure there are some very pleased people out there.
After that they are being interviewed by Rosanna Tennant about the race and then she wishes him a happy birthday. The crowd starts to sing happy birthday for him and his smile is contagious.
Michael comes up to me pushing a cart with a massive cake on it. I ordered it for today and it looks amazing. I had the baker make a honey badger cake and it does really resemble a honey badger. We carefully place the box it came in over it so nobody can see what it is.
I get handed a microphone as well and Charlotte sits down on her spot.
"So Daniel, somebody arranged a little surprise for you." I hear Rosanna tell him and he is looking around to see what it is.
At that moment I walk onto the stage singing 'Happy Birthday' for him while Michael pushes the cart onto the stage.
The fans sing with me which makes it even more special. Daniel is definitely surprised by the look on his face.
"Aaah baby, what's this?" He hugs me tightly when we finish singing for him and I give him a kiss.
"You didn't think we could just ignore your birthday right? You can see what's underneath the box if you want." He walks over to the cart and together with Michael he picks up the box.
"Oooh my god that's fantastic. Is this actually a cake?"
I pick up the knife that's next to it. "You can find out yourself. Give it a go."
He looks at the cake but hesitates to cut it. "It looks so good it's almost a shame to cut it. But I do want to try it so let's kill this honey badger."
He pretty much stabs the cake which makes it look quite horrible. Eventually he manages to cut a piece off the cake to try it.
I chose vanilla sponge with white chocolate and raspberry filling.
"Oooh this tastes so good, baby come here and try it." He puts a bite in my mouth and he's right, it tastes really good. Lando also gets a piece as well as Rosanna.
I look back at Charlotte and nod, she is sitting behind a piano they brought in from, I don't know where, but they pulled it off.
The piano is on wheels and some team members push it on the stage with Charlotte still sitting behind it.
She starts to play and then Daniel realizes I'm actually going to sing for him. In front of all these fans. It's really out of my comfort zone, singing in the bar is definitely very different than standing here, with so many people watching. And there's quite some tv cameras as well. It's a lot more than I'm used to, but I can't go back now.
More and more fans are gathering and the crowd just grows bigger and bigger. I see so much variety in team merch, which makes it even more special. That's one thing I love about the sport, the majority might support a team or driver, but they still respect other people. Unlike a lot of soccer 'fans'.
As soon as I start singing I just see Daniel, I lock my eyes with his and for that moment it's just us.
I don't hear any fans, I don't see the people around us. We could be alone in a room and it would feel the same.
He takes my hand in his when I'm almost finished with the song and as the final notes fade he wraps his arms around me.
"That was beautiful baby. God I love you so much." We kiss and then the fans start to whistle and cheer.
That's the first moment I realize it's not just us, I smile at the fans and wave before I leave the stage so they can finish up.
"He was so surprised, you totally nailed it." Charlotte comes to me and I thank her for her beautiful music.
"He was. I just hope people won't think I wanted to be in the spotlight or something." Suddenly the words my mom told me sneak their way into my thoughts and it makes me feel unsure if this was the right thing to do.
"Why would anybody think that? It was all about Daniel and his birthday. That song was just a way of expressing your love for him and I could tell he was absolutely loving it." Charlotte tries to make the doubt go away, but it's just a bit of a nagging feeling. I shake my head trying to get rid of those thoughts and I spot my brother and his family together with my father.
"Charlotte come with me I want you to meet some people." I grab her hand and take her with me.
After a short chat Daniel and Lando join us and Pixie jumps into Daniels arms again. "Happy birthday uncle Daniel!"
"Hey Pix, thank you! It's so cool that you're here. Want to come to the garage with us so you can actually see the cars we drive?"
She nods and the group of us head over to the garage, Daniel and Lando show Pixie and Mason everything in there and they are allowed to sit in the car for a minute.
I will never forget the faces of my niece and nephew. Abby and Damian take tons of photos, which are great memories for later.
Derek, Jenna and Bri have also arrived and they text me so I head over to the entrance to pick them up together with my dad and Damian, so I can introduce them to Max and Lewis.
We walk by the Red Bull garage and I call out for Max, he is standing at the monitors so he makes his way outside as soon as he hears me.
"Sky! Good to see you. And congrats with Daniels birthday." He hugs me and gives me a kiss on my cheek.
"Thanks Max, you're going to be at the party Sunday right?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." He looks behind me, "so is this your family?"
I pull my father next to me on his arm, "it is, Max this is my dad Rick, dad you know who Max is."
Max is amazing and he takes my dad with him to show him around the garage. I've never seen my father so happy, well except for the times when Pixie and Mason were born.
"We'll see you later at the McLaren garage dad. Have fun!" I wave at him, but he hardly hears me.
"Ok and now let's go to Lewis." I say to my brother and he looks as if he's going to puke.
The Mercedes garage is next to the Red Bulls so a few seconds later I walk inside to find Lewis.
First I bump into George who greets me with a big hug. "Hey George, do you know where I can find Lewis?"
"Yeah he should be back there with Toto." He points to a station filled with screens and I see Toto standing there.
Toto still makes me a bit nervous, but I know he's really nice. He just has a way of looking at people that makes you feel very tiny.
Walking up there he spots me before Lewis does.
"Well well look who we have here. How have you been?"
"Hello Toto, I'm good and you? I still want to thank you for the amazing opportunity you gave me in Miami. It was a wonderful evening." I shake his hand and he gives me a pretty warm smile.
"Thank you for having the courage to do it. We are definitely going to call you again for our next party."
"I would like that. But can I borrow Lewis for a minute?" I ask him with my sweetest smile.
"You can, we're done right Toto?" Lewis comes over and I see Toto nodding his head.
Before I can say something Lewis wraps his arms around me in a big bear hug and picks me up so my feet are dangling above the floor.
"What are you doing silly!" I laugh, but I hug him back just as tightly as he does.
"I just wanted to hug my gorgeous friend. So what can I do for you." He says after putting me back on my feet.
"I want you to meet somebody." I take his hand and lead him outside with me.
"Lewis, meet my brother Damian, Damian...well meet my dear friend Lewis."
Eventually we make it back to McLaren after being greeted by practically every driver on the grid. At least I can say this experience is already amazing for my friends and family.
It's so nice having them here, I can finally show them what I experience every race weekend and how nice everybody is.
Daniel has to go for Practice 1 so we all stand in the back of the garage at the spot that is reserved for guests.
I decide to watch with the group there instead of at my usual spot by the screens.
They have to start on inters, because it has been raining and actually it's still not really dry outside.
Only in the last 3 minutes some go out on the softs, but the session is red flagged after Lance parks his car in the gravel.
Second practice is dry and both of the McLaren boys get some decent timing in.
I've already told my family and friends about Daniel and I having a night in, but we're going to have dinner with them tomorrow.
I'm still waiting for Daniel to finish up when the rest already heads to the hotel, Mason is completely drained, so I'm sure he will be sleeping before they even reach the hotel room. Hopefully they will have a good night so they can enjoy the day tomorrow.
"Hey my sweet girl, are you ready to go?" Daniel walks up behind my and wraps his arms around my waist. I lean against him enjoying the warmth radiating from his body.
"Very ready." I turn around to kiss him and we head to the car. "How has your birthday been so far. Besides the fact you had to work of course."
He looks at me with a sweet smile.
"I think it's the best birthday so far. Your surprise was fantastic and just knowing you are here makes my day perfect in every way."
"Aaaw are you getting all gooey on me now?" I look at him and he quickly kisses the tip of my nose.
"You turned me in to a big, romantic, gooey mess. So it's all your fault."
"I don't mind. I love you too." I get into the car and Daniel drives us back to the hotel.
In our room we get a shower and put on some comfy clothes for the evening.
"Let's order room service, what do you want to eat?" Daniel is already dressed and has the menu.
"I'll have some pasta, you can choose which one. And as dessert I want chocolate fondue with strawberries." I pop my head around the bathroom door to see his face.
He smirks when he remembers the chocolate fondue strawberries we had in Italy.
"Great idea, I'll order."
I finish up in the bathroom and we cuddle on the bed waiting for our food.
After about 30 minutes we hear a soft knock and I get up to open the door.
"Good evening milady." The waitress brings in the cart with our food and I give her a tip for her effort.
"Thank you so much, have a nice evening." I tell her before she leaves our room and she gets back downstairs.
"Babe, do you want to eat in bed, or should we start here and then move to the bedroom with the strawberries?" I'm really looking forward to that. Last time we just teased each other and if it wasn't for the fact that Daniel had to work out with Michael, things would have gone a lot further.
Daniel walks in and we decide to eat in the living area of the suite we are in.
Just when we're about to take the chocolate and strawberries to the bedroom my phone starts to buzz.
"It's Abby, do you mind if I take it? She wouldn't call me if it wasn't important." Daniel nods and I answer the call.
"Abbs what's going on, I've got you on speaker by the way?"
"I'm so sorry to bother you, Pixie doesn't want to go to sleep, because she is asking for you. I really don't want to ask you this, but could you maybe come over for a minute to give her a goodnight kiss?" I can tell by her voice that she feels really bad for calling, but when I look at Daniel he seems fine with it.
"She will be there Abby, no worries." He answers before I can say anything.
"Uncle Daniel?! Will you come too for a goodnight kiss please?" Pixies voice is soft, but we can hear her fine.
"Pixie it's his birthday, you should just go to sleep." Abby tries, but Daniel interrupts.
"It's fine Abby, we'll be there in a few minutes." Daniel gets up from the couch, "come on love, let's get that niece of yours to bed."
"Do you realize every time you do something like this I fall in love with you more. Although I thought that was impossible. You just proved me wrong again."
Abby and Damian are only 2 floors below us in the same hotel, so we knock on their door only a few minutes later.
"Hi guys I'm so sorry about this." Abby keeps apologizing.
"Stop that Abby. It's fine, where is that niece of ours?" We walk in and I see Pixie is sitting with Damian on the couch.
"Pixie! What's this about, don't you want to have enough energy for tomorrow?" I ask her when she sees us.
"I do, but I just thought maybe you could sing the song you used to do when you came over and put me to bed." I smile, knowing what she means.
"I will today, but tomorrow you just go to bed when your mum and dad tell you ok?" She nods and I take her hand to put her to bed. Mason is already sleeping in the other room, but I know when he's out, he is really out. He doesn't hear a thing, so I'm not worried about accidentally waking him up.
"Now give Daniel a hug and then hop into bed ok?" Daniel kneels down and she puts her arms around his neck. "I'm really happy you and aunt Sky found each other." She whispers in his ear, but I can still hear it and she just melts my heart.
"So am I Pix, so am I. Now jump in, it's getting late."
She happily obliges and gets in bed. I sit down on the edge and calmly run a finger over her forehead. This always worked when she was little.
"Do you want the Dutch version or the English one?" I ask her already knowing what she will choose.
"The Dutch one please." Just as I thought.
Somewhere halfway the song she can't keep her eyes open, but I still finish to make sure she is fully asleep.
I get up quietly and turn around to Daniel who is standing in the doorway with tears in his eyes.